Move-out inspections: proving damage vs. normal wear and tear

There's an assumption baked into a lot of rental advice that doesn't hold in Ontario: that you inspect at move-out, tally the damage, and deduct it from the deposit. You can't. Ontario has no damage deposit. The only deposit a landlord may collect is a rent deposit, meaning last month's rent, and it must be applied to the last month of the tenancy. It cannot be applied to damage, cleaning, or unpaid utilities. If a tenant damages the unit and you want to be paid for it, you have to ask the Landlord and Tenant Board to order it, and that means proving it.

Which puts the entire weight of the outcome on your inspection records.

The line: wear and tear vs. damage

A tenant is not responsible for normal wear and tear. They are responsible for damage caused by their wilful or negligent conduct, or that of someone they permitted into the unit. The distinction is about cause and degree, not about whether something looks worse than it did at move-in. Everything looks worse than it did at move-in.

Normal wear and tear is what happens to a unit simply by being lived in for the length of the tenancy:

• Carpet worn thin in traffic lanes and doorways after several years.
• Small nail or screw holes from hanging pictures.
• Paint that has faded, yellowed, or scuffed at hand height.
• Minor scratches on flooring and countertops.
• Grout and caulking that has discoloured with age.
• Appliances or fixtures that reached the end of their service life during the tenancy.

Damage is different in kind or in scale:

• A hole punched or kicked through drywall.
• Carpet burned, or stained through to the underlay.
• A door off its hinges, a cracked window, a smashed mirror.
• Walls painted a colour the lease didn't permit, or covered in adhesive that took the surface off.
• Damage from a pet the lease permitted but the tenant failed to control: chewed trim, scratched doors, urine-soaked subfloor.
• Deliberate removal of a landlord-supplied fixture or appliance.

The grey zone is real, and it's where most disputes live. Fifty small nail holes is not the same as five. A single scratch on a hardwood floor is wear; gouges across a whole room is not. Adjudicators look at the number, the size, the cause, and the age of the thing, and they look at what your record shows.

Age matters: the depreciation problem

Even when damage is clearly established, you are generally not entitled to the full replacement cost of a new item. If a tenant ruins ten-year-old broadloom that had two or three years of useful life left, the award reflects the remaining value, not the price of new carpet. This surprises a lot of landlords and it's the reason so many damage claims come back smaller than expected.

The practical consequence: record the age and condition of major items at move-in. An appliance model plate photographed on day one, or a note that the carpet was already five years old, is what lets you argue value credibly later, in either direction.

What actually wins a damage claim

A move-out inspection on its own proves nothing. It shows the unit's condition at the end. What proves tenant-caused damage is the comparison between two records built the same way.

• A move-in inspection with the same rooms, the same items, and the same rating scale as the move-out one. If the two records aren't structured identically, you're asking an adjudicator to do the comparison for you.
• Dated photos of the item at move-in and at move-out. Side by side, this is the single most persuasive thing you can put in front of a hearing.
• The tenant's signature on the move-in report. It closes off the 'that was already like that' argument.
• Specific written descriptions, not ratings alone. 'Damaged' is a conclusion; 'hole in drywall approximately 15cm, east wall of second bedroom' is evidence.
• Actual cost evidence: quotes, invoices, receipts. An estimate you made up is not a number the Board can order.

How to run the move-out inspection

• Do it as close to the end of the tenancy as you can, once the unit is empty. A unit still full of furniture hides exactly the things you're looking for.
• Work the same template you used at move-in, in the same order. Do not improvise a shorter version.
• Photograph every item you intend to claim on, plus a wide shot of each room for context.
• Note what is not damaged too. A record that only lists problems reads as a document built to support a claim. A complete record reads as a record.
• Invite the tenant. If they attend and agree an item is damaged, say so in the report and have them sign it.
• Collect keys, fobs, and remotes and record the count against what you handed over at move-in.

If the tenant has already gone

Once the tenancy has ended and the tenant has moved out, a claim for damage is made against a former tenant, and it is subject to a time limit, generally one year from the event. Do not sit on it. Document the unit before you repair anything, get your quotes, and decide quickly whether you're pursuing it. Repairing first and photographing after is the most common self-inflicted wound in these files.

Whether to pursue a claim at all is a judgment call about the amount, the cost of your time, and your prospects of collecting. That part is business, not law. But the documentation costs almost nothing at the time and is worthless if you skip it, so build the record regardless and decide later.

None of this is legal advice, and the grey zone genuinely is grey. If the amount is significant, a paralegal review before you file is usually money well spent.

• Inspections in Kera
• The room-by-room inspection checklist
• How to end a tenancy in Ontario
• Last month's rent deposits and interest